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A magnificently illustrated tribute
to Black women in art and story
In Praise of Black Women is a magnificent tribute to women in Africa and
the African diaspora from the ancient past to the present. Lavishly
illustrated, with text written and selected by the celebrated
Guadeloupean novelist Simone Schwarz-Bart, this four-volume series
celebrates remarkable women who distinguished themselves in their
time and shaped the course of culture and history.
Volume 1: Ancient African Queens weaves together oral tradition, folk legends and
stories, songs and poems, historical accounts, and travelers'
tales from Egypt to southern Africa, from prehistory to the nineteenth
century. These women rulers, warriors, and heroines include Amanirenas,
the queen of Kush who battled Roman armies and defeated them
at Aswan; Daurama, mother of the seven Hausa kingdoms; Amina
Kulibali, founder of the Gabu dynasty in Senegal; Ana de Sousa
Nzinga, who resisted the Portuguese conquest of Angola; Beatrice
Kimpa Vita, a Kongo prophet burned at the stake by Christian
missionaries; Nanda, mother of the famous warrior-king Shaka
Zulu; and many others.
These extraordinary women's stories, narrated
in the style of African oral tradition, are absorbing, informative,
and accessible. The abundant illustrations, many of them rare
archival images, depict the diversity among Black women and make
this volume a unique treasure for every art lover, every school,
and every family.
Forthcoming volumes of In Praise of Black Women
Volume 2: Heroines of the Slavery Era
ISBN 0-299-17260-0 Fall 2002
Volume 3: Modern African Women
ISBN 0-299-17270-8 Spring 2003
Volume 4: Modern Women of the Diaspora
ISBN 0-299-17280-5 Fall 2004
Simone Schwarz-Bart
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Simone Schwarz-Bart is the author of six novels and a play, which
have been translated and published in many languages; Between
Two Worlds and The Bridge of Beyond have been published
in English. André Schwarz-Bart is the author of three
novels, including Le Dernier des justes (The Last of the Just),
which was awarded the 1959 Prix Goncourt and has been translated
into twenty languages. Rose-Myriam Réjouis and
Val Vinokurov have previously translated two works by
French novelist Patrick Chamoiseau: Solibo Magnificent and
Texaco. Stephanie K. Turner is completing a Ph.D.
in comparative literature at Princeton University, specializing
in Francophone literature. |
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